Fly me to the moon
by Caprica Janeway
Summary: As Rusty tries to figure out what he wants to be when he grows up, Sharon and Andy contemplate a similar dilemma - a follow up to Turning the Page. Character piece for all 3 characters plus Sharon/Andy.
1. Chapter 1

"Sharon, can I ask your question?"

Sharon picked up her earrings from the side table and adjusted them in the mirror while she observed Rusty in the reflection.

"You're asking one now aren't you?"

Rusty rolled his eyes and picked up her hair brush from the side table and began flicking the bristles with his fingers.

"Ha ha, Sharon."

"What's your question Rusty?" She asked turning to him and eyeing the brush he was holding.

"Well here's the thing - I've finished school now, we had the graduation and the party, which was great, but I'm wondering, I guess what I'm asking is - did you know what you wanted to do for a living when you finished school? I mean you said before you got pregnant that you were planning to study law, but did you always know that is what you wanted to do?"

Sharon took the brush from Rusty with both hands and placed it back on the side table. Lifting her dress with one hand and taking his with the other she ushered him to sit down beside her on the bed. She smoothed the long purple dress out before looking back up at him and then watched an array of anxieties flutter across his face.

She remembered the feeling well; the overwhelming expectation to become something better than your parents, to forge your way in the world with a title that represented everything you are and everything you could offer. Her maturity had taught her that part of growing up was understanding that so much of what a person is isn't a job or a title but the everyday choices made and the effect they had on other people.

As a teenage she had found herself swinging between youthful rebellion and a need for direction. She knew it was a similar experience for Rusty, but imagined it would be even more difficult for him without growing up with the emotional reassurance from a parent that she had as a child.

"Rusty you don't have to know what you want to do right now. Eventually you'll find what comes naturally to you and what makes you excited about life, and if you work hard and you're lucky enough, you'll get the opportunity to do that for a career. College is meant to be a time to try new things, meet new people and have new experiences. You just have to see where all that takes you."

"Ok, I guess." he said watching a stray curl fall to the side of her face.

"Don't over think it Rusty. You're still quite young, some people don't figure out what they want to do till they are much older, and some are always looking. It doesn't mean their lives stay on hold, you keep going and you keep trying - that's the key."

"Alright Sharon you say this all now, but I bet if I'm still living here in my thirties trying to figure this out you're going to be pushing me to join the army or something."

Sharon smiled at Rusty and reached out her hand to rub his arm.

"Putting aside my indecision over my future for a moment, you never answered my question - before Jack and Law School, when you finished school what did you want to do?"

She looked down to the carpet, remembering and smiling with one lip carefully covered under the other.

"Well..." She glanced at her nails before looking back at Rusty.

"...for most of my childhood up to about age twelve I wanted to be..."

"Yes?"

"...I wanted to be an astronaut."

"An astronaut? You in space? With all that hair?" He replied taking in the long waves and curls Sharon had so carefully crafted into her hair tonight.

"I don't think your hair dryer would work so well in space."

"I'm sure I would have adapted - maybe."

Stepping off the bed carefully Sharon picked up her lipstick from the side table and began to reapply it.

"So why didn't you become Sharon Raydor the astronaut?"

"Well it would have been Sharon Hellier had I never met Jack, and my twelve year old self found out about the less than glamorous way astronauts use the toilet, and that dream started to lose it's appeal."

"So you gave up on a life of intergalactic travel..."

"Orbiting the Earth analysing space junk," Sharon interrupted putting her lipstick in her bag.

"You basically gave up on your dream because you didn't want to pee in a bag?"

"I was twelve, it wasn't like I was attached to the idea. Everyone has funny ideas of what they wanted to do when they were a kid - my sister wanted to be one of Santa's elves."

"My god Sharon your family is weird."

"They're your family too now, weird is part of the deal." She replied waving her mascara at him.

"As a teenager I went through so many phases of things I liked one minute then hated the next - that's part of the fun I guess. I also found that while I liked science I also had quite a knack for English and History. I considered teaching for a while during college but after several rounds with the debate team my coach suggested I may be interested in trying law. I ended up taking a few classes here and there and that's how I met Jackson. So you see Rusty, you never know where life will take you."

"Yeah I still think living on the moon would have been a better option than Jack"

Sharon rolled her eyes at him and tried not to laugh.

"Have you seen my shoes?" She asked looking around the room.

"Which ones? You have like 40 pairs of them,"

"I do not have 40 pairs of shoes" she said as she opened the double doors to her wardrobe.

"I have...1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, okay we aren't going to count sneakers because they aren't worthy of the title, 10, 11, 12, 13, there they are!"

"Wow Sharon I hope you don't intend to dance or frankly walk in those shoes because I've seen stilts that look safer."

Sharon leaned on Rusty's shoulder as she put her shoes on.

"It's dinner theatre, I intend on eating, laughing, and secretly wiggling my toes when no one is looking. There I think I may be ready" she said as she adjusted the skirt of her dress.

"What do you think Rusty?"

Rusty looked at her from top to toe. Her hair as always was immaculate and tonight it fell in loosely curled bouncy waves down her back. Her dress was a deep purple with thin straps and the material shimmered under different light. What the material was Rusty couldn't say, but it wrapped around every angle and gently flared out to her ankles from her mid-thigh onwards. She was absolutely stunning he thought, and part of him felt over-protective of his foster mother, and another part of him was curious as to why tonight she was putting in so much effort.

"You look beautiful Sharon. Though don't you usually wear a wrap with that dress?"

"Sometimes - though the weather has been warmer lately and it would just be another thing to carry."

Rusty nodded and looked around wondering if he should leave her to it.

"Rusty is something wrong?"

"No, I guess I want to ask you something but I don't know if it's any of my business."

"Is it about me going out tonight? Whatever it is Rusty just ask me, I'll be honest and tell you if I'm ever uncomfortable with answering your questions."

"Ok, but I'm just asking so I don't say the wrong thing in front of Lt. Flynn. I know you've gone out with him before but you weren't as dressed up as you are now and I'm wondering - oh god this is so embarrassing..."

Sharon reached her arms out and grabbed a hold of Rusty's restless hands and looked at him patiently till he could make eye contact again.

"You're wondering if this is a date?"

Rusty nodded his head as his eyes darted from Sharon to her reflection in the mirror.

"Honestly? I'm aware of how it might look but I'm trying not to think about that right now. It's just nice to be able to go out with another person my age, dress up, enjoy some good food and conversation and I don't really know or want to over think it. The nature of our positions at work means I need to be careful with any labels I apply to a situation like this, so I'm avoiding it. And to be honest I'm not even sure Andy..."

"Wow you're actually rambling Sharon, it's ok. I get it and I know you can look after yourself but I just can't help but worry about you. Not that I think Lt. Flynn would ever hurt you, but I wonder how much you've actually gotten passed what happened with Jack. I know you've been separated from him for a long time, but that relationship was still a huge part of your life and I know what it's like to suddenly lose that - even when you know it's for the best."

Sharon opened her mouth slightly then closed it again. She noticed Rusty didn't look away this time, maybe he was waiting for her to speak, but she didn't know what to say. So she walked closer to him and pulled him into a gentle hug. With one hand on his back she softly patted his shoulder and pulled back.

"Rusty I...I'm good. I won't lie, it's been difficult and there are moments when it's going to be difficult again but right now, I'm good, I'm really good."

He smiled at her and felt his shoulders relax.

"Well I'm good, that you're good."

The quiet moment that followed was interrupted by a knock at the door.

"Well it looks like Lt. Flynn's here, time for your date" he said moving to the door.

"It's not a date Rusty. Let's call it an outing."

"That sounds like a boarding school trip to the museum."

"It will do for now," she said as she ushered him to the door.

"Could you please let him in, I'll be out shortly."

Rusty opened the door to an equally impressively dressed Lieutenant.

"Oh good you match."

Andy smiled and fidgeted with the flowers he was holding that were also purple. Was this sarcasm? Or a casual observation? Andy wasn't sure but he had to get inside and get this awkward greeting out of the way.

"Hey Rusty, can I come in?"

"Sure, I don't know what else she is doing but I imagine she'll be out soon. So do you want a drink of something?"

"No, no I'm fine. Do you know where Sharon keeps her vases? These will need to be put in water before we leave."

"Yeah just under the sink to the left."

Andy navigated to the kitchen and began looking at the array of neatly arranged vases Sharon kept there. _Geez even her kitchen cupboards are neat_, he thought to himself. He wondered what she would have thought of his set up at home if they had followed the original plan for this evening.

With Sharon finding out that her local dinner theatre had recently reopened her sentimentality made her eager to check it out. With the plan in place Andy pointed out that it made more sense if he were to pick her up to save her driving across town and back. So instead of nervously waiting at home while Sharon found a park, he found himself searching through her cupboard looking for a vase. Eventually he found a nicely shaped ceramic vase, it was decorated with tiny etchings of flowers and birds, and turning on the kitchen tap he carefully began to fill it.

"So Lt. Flynn,"

"Please, Andy or Flynn, or whatever - I'm not like Provenza, I like to leave the rank at work."

"Ok then, I guess like Lt. Provenza I'll call you Flynn."

"Sure, it's a step up from some of the other names he calls me."

Rusty made a note to ask the Lieutenant what other names he likes to call Flynn - though he does recall witnessing the term 'idiot' thrown around quite liberally in the office.

"So Flynn, while we are waiting for Sharon I was wondering, what your thoughts are on the space program?"

Andy looked straight at Rusty completely bewildered.

"What?"

Just as he asked the question something caught his attention from the corner of his eye, something purple.

"Woah," was all that came out and he felt himself say it in his head a second time as if his brain was compelled to echo the sentiment.  
>Exquisite is the only other word that he could think of right now. Nothing else could compute except for the fact that to the side of him stood someone he knew was beautiful, but right now as she was, some how that word wasn't enough.<p>

"Flynn the vase!" Rusty yelled trying to return his attention to the vase, which as of now was over flowing.

"Damnit!" He uttered as he went to quickly turn off the tap and check on the outcome of his distraction.

"Sorry about that, no damage thankfully." He said as he lifted the vase to show them both and placed it on the bench.

Trying not to grin too much with his lips was hard when the eyes had a way of conveying a grin regardless. Stepping away from the sink, he picked up the flowers he had placed on the bench and brought them over to Sharon.

"Hey Sharon, I guess you surprised me. You look amazing, I mean not that you don't always look lovely but ah..."

Sharon's eyes widened along with her smile. He was nervous in that ridiculous manner she had seen before while they were at The Nutcracker performance. She never knew if she should find it endearing or be concerned about his blood pressure.

"Andy, thank you. You look very handsome yourself, are these for me?" she asked noticing the flowers he haphazardly held in his hands.

"Oh yeah sure, I was going to put them in the vase before we left,"

Sharon was hearing him but she was also busy taking the flowers and breathing in their heavy scent.

"Oh these are lovely Andy, thank you"

"I can put them in the vase for you" Rusty offered.

"Thank you Honey" she carefully handed the flowers to Rusty while Andy continued to smile at her as if he was frozen in time.

"Well then, I guess we should get going," she said as she turned to pick up her handbag. She looked back at Andy who hadn't moved since she last looked at him.

"Andy?"

"Oh right, yes sure."

"Are you ok?" She asked him as she moved in to get a better look at his appearance.

"I'm fine really, I guess I just need some fresh air. It's been so warm today and the weather is so unpredictable..."

"You're rambling Flynn, but you're in good company."

For the second time tonight Andy was confused by something Rusty had said. But when he turned away from Rusty he noticed the very much unamused glare Sharon was directing towards the newest member of her family.

"You sure you don't want a glass of water?" Rusty amended.

"No thanks that's fine. We better get going if we want to get good seats."

"Rusty, I don't think we will be out much later than midnight, but don't stay up too late. I'd like you to come into work tomorrow and you can start on your college applications."

"Alright, alright. Have a good time on your..."

Sharon took in a sharp breath and narrowed her eyes at the young man.

"...outing"

Sharon released the breath she was holding and smiled at the boy.

"Shall we?" Sharon turned around and took Andy's arm.

Andy looked down at the arm that had taken his and the reality of the moment hit him like a newspaper to the head, _I'm on a date._  
>He looked back up at Sharon who seemed a little confused at his behaviour but smiled at him regardless, and he gently patted the hand that rested on his arm.<p>

"I'm ready if you are." he replied.

Waving to Rusty they both left the condo arm in arm as they tried to ignore the obvious amusement of the younger man behind them.

TBC..

**A/N:** Twelve year old Sharon may have borrowed her concerns about the space program from twelve year old me. Honestly growing up on Star Trek gave me unrealistic expectations regarding gravity, replicators and Captain Janeway approved bathrooms. Alas I will never reach the stars because my expectations are too high and my grades were too low.


	2. Chapter 2

The drive to the dinner theatre was noticeably quiet. While Sharon seemed to shuffle through her bag every now and again, Andy snuck glances at her at the traffic lights. He was used to the quiet with her in other circumstances but for some reason he felt like something was different this time. When she wasn't looking in her bag she seemed at a distance glancing out the side window.

"So is Rusty interested in Astronomy now?"

"Hmm?" She asked finally looking back at him.

"Before you came out of your room, out of nowhere he asked me what I thought about the Space Program."

"Oh..." She replied shaking her head in hand.

"Is he thinking about studying science?"

"Only the science of driving me crazy."

Andy laughed at her and was pleased that the silence that seemed like a third wheel had finally left. She was beautiful, this person who had always been there for many years now had flown into his world in a whole new way.

He didn't know when or how but something felt different. The acceptance and anticipation in spending time together, the natural way they were drawn to work side-by-side - it was something that happened in spite of their conscious efforts. Andy wasn't sure why tonight of all nights he had bought her flowers but he felt that something had shifted since they discussed her divorce. An obligation was gone that no longer predisposed either of them to be coy, was now tentatively balanced against their own journey to some type of deeper connection.

He wasn't sure but he felt she was at least sending some signals that things between them may be evolving. She had dressed more formally for their dinner this evening then she had previously, and she seemed more affectionate - but at the same time she also seemed to become very aware of her affections and shy back just as quickly.

He never saw her as someone who would be nervous with dating - if that's what this really was, but he imagined the divorce and their positions in the workplace meant her guard was firmly in place. She wasn't alone in her caution. He hadn't considered pursuing anything more than the casual dating scene for a while. Becoming his boss and then his friend only made the fragility of whatever this relationship was even more concerning. But putting aside all those concerns, his only objective for the night was to ensure they both enjoyed themselves. Tonight wasn't the time for enquiring about relationship status.

"It looks like this place has a chauffeur service. Wow they've done some lovely work renovating - it looks very old Hollywood."

"My mother used to come here back in the day and sing the odd song or two. Actually I think this was the place where she met my father, or maybe it was my uncle - they dated first, much to my father's continued amusement."

Andy remembered a picture of Sharon and her mother in the photo album she had shown him. Sharon's mother shared a lot of physical traits with her daughter, most telling was her illuminating smile. But when he tried to picture her mother taking the stage to perform all he could think about was Sharon, and he smiled at the thought of Sharon Raydor of all people singing.

"And will you be making it up on stage Ms Raydor?"

Sharon rolled her eyes at him and laughed.

"Oh no, I'll leave the performing to the professionals."

"Too bad, it would have made interesting viewing at our next Christmas party."

Andy pulled the car up to the entrance, and before Sharon could respond he was out of the car, walking over to her side and opening the door for her. She took the hand he offered and looked at him through her eyelashes, trying to shake off the amused but annoyed grin that was forming.

Andy gave the attendant his keys and looped his arm with Sharon's.

"You don't have to worry Sharon, whatever happens tonight - be that singing; line-dancing or musical chairs, I will not tell a soul."

"Musical chairs?"

"It's dinner theatre, anything can happen." He said as they entered the auditorium.

"You may have just invited a lot of trouble to our night by saying that."

He just smiled at her, and as he let go of her arm he gently took her hand. The care in which he took her hand did not go unnoticed by Sharon. His thumb gently caressed her knuckles and when he noticed her settle in the moment he tilted her hand and ushered her to a table.

The theatre was beautifully ornate. Set against the walls were beautiful wooden booths lined with stylish cream coloured leather panels, with the odd dark grey triangle panel in between. As they got closer to the stage the floor lowered and on each side of the wall stood two bars, both decorated in shades of cream and grey, with only the bar top in a deep purple to break up the colour scheme. In the centre of the theatre was a beautiful black grand piano where a young man in a tux was playing Sinatra's hits.

Surrounding the piano were several dark tables with matching chairs, but Andy noticed Sharon's eye was immediately drawn to one of the booths closer to the stage that had only now been made empty.

"That one?" He said pointing out the booth.

"Perfect." She replied leading the way.

As she began to sit down another couple appeared beside them. They were about the same age as Sharon and Andy but dressed as if they were props from the theatre that were overlooked during the renovations.

The woman wore an emerald green wrap dress with a mountain of greying blonde hair piled on top of her unamused face. Her partner, equally unamused by Sharon's presence at the booth wore a black tuxedo with a slightly wilted flower clasped to his collar.

But what confused Sharon the most was the shiny obstruction he wore on his head. She knew it was supposed to be hair but the piece seemed a couple of sizes too big for the narrow head it sat on, and as the man stiffened his lip and raised his nose at her, she waited with baited breath for the toupee to move on its own accord.

"Can I help you?" Andy asked as he moved past the other woman to stand at Sharon's side.

"Your girlfriend is sitting in our booth." The man with the ill-fitting wig remarked.

Andy sighed and avoided eye contact with Sharon for the moment as he looked this peculiar man over. If they weren't ready to define what they were he certainly wasn't ready for a stranger to make the call.

"And you are?"

"We are..." the woman in green interrupted.

"We are, Mr and Mrs Reiner and every Friday night the owners reserve this booth for us - tonight is no exception."

"Listen lady..."

Sharon cleared her throat and quickly exchanged a glance at him that said, _it's not worth it_.

"Mrs Reiner, how are we meant to know if the booth is reserved for you? I don't see a sign anywhere."

"A sign? My family have been providing this establishment with catering services for over thirty years, we don't need a sign - my very presence here is enough."

"Don't worry I'm getting out of your booth." Sharon said as she began shuffling her way off the seat.

"And while you're on your way maybe you can stop staring at my husband."

"Oh don't mind her Rachel, look at what she's come into the restaurant with, it's no wonder she's distracted." Mr Reiner commented as he winked at a highly perturbed Sharon.

"Excuse me?" Andy asked stepping past Mrs Reiner and coming within inches of Mr Reiner's face.

Sharon was remarkably quick for a woman wearing a dress and heels such as hers and was by Andy's side in a matter of seconds gently touching his arm. He felt her presence and immediately slowed down.

"You know what? You, your wife and your hair can keep the booth. I've wasted enough time with you two as it is."

Andy ignored the horrified look Mr Reiner was giving him and held out his hand towards Sharon.

"How would you like to sit closer to the piano Ms Raydor?" He asked in a playful tone.

She smiled at him and gracefully took his hand.

"That would be delightful." She replied mimicking the same playful tone he had asked her with.

As soon as they were a comfortable distance away from the Reiners it became difficult to restrain their laughter at the whole ridiculous situation.

"Oh god can you believe the nerve of those people? And what was with their outfits? Hey Sharon you don't think they are part of some comedy act and they were trying their routine out on us?" He asked as he pulled a chair out for her.

"Oh god I hope so, I'd like to think that hair piece he was wearing was some kind of a joke but then again, you remember that hideous thing Marcella Brewster wore?"

"If I ever start losing my hair please just encourage me to wear hats."

Andy tentatively touched his own hair, reassured that he still had a mess of it still sitting there. Sharon watched him as he took his seat and tried not to laugh at his little insecurity.

"Some how I don't think you'll have that problem. You know this isn't the first time I remember you having a run in with a disgruntled toupee." She said as she picked up the menu.

"I don't know what you are referring to." He said knowing exactly what she was referring to as he suddenly became interested in the finer details of the menu.

"July of 97, one particularly hot summer if I recall, and I remember one day the air conditioning decided to shut down across several floors including mine. Everyone seemed agitated and several members of your department thought a trip to the local bar would be a way to break the tension. My supervisor had told me to tag along but to keep my distance and keep an eye on one officer in particular."

"Oh god," he said, as pinched the bridge of his nose.

Sharon put her menu down as a waiter approached and ordered a white wine for herself and a sparkling water for Andy.

"Hold up, our first meeting was because you were sent to spy on me?"

Not realising how loud he was Andy waved his hand and smiled to the few faces that popped up wondering what all the fuss was about.

"In a matter of speaking…"

"You realise if you hadn't have been at the bar in the first place the fight would never have happened?"

"Oh I'm sure you would have found something to fight about. No one seemed to be in a particularly good mood that day, myself included."

_Everyone was hot and impatient as they waited for their drinks, four of them sat around a small table under a dingy looking ceiling fan that turned at an incredibly slow pace. The place was crowded but mostly populated with men, so when the leggy auburn-haired beauty complete with short skirt and sleeveless shirt entered the bar she could hardly remain covert. _

_He knew he had seen her around the halls enough to know she was a cop, but he had never met her or knew what division she worked in. He was ten seconds away from getting out of his seat and offering to buy her a drink when a group of three men made their way over to her first._

_He remembered seeing her look over to him and they had shared the briefest of eye contact. He wondered if she had also noticed him at work and was trying to make the connection. _

_The men that approached her worked for a nearby trucking company and appeared pretty rough by anyone's standards. She appeared to be laughing at whatever it was they were saying but at the same time she kept looking in his direction, and despite the effects of the heat, even he could see she wanted out._

_"Hey there you are!"_

_This was the greeting of a man who did not know a woman's name._

_"I've been waiting for ten minutes already, what took you so long?" He continued._

_Her face lit up instantly._

_"Andy Flynn, don't you know never to keep Sharon Raydor waiting." Someone from across the bar yelled._

_ She smiled at him and lifted her hands in amused agreement._

_"I almost gave up on you. I thought we were meeting somewhere else" she replied._

_She had this playful look in her eyes like they had been dating for months and this was her amused reaction towards his continued tardiness. She was a natural at playing this game of pretend, and he wanted to continue playing it - but the setting and the players around them were all wrong._

_"Listen buddy, why don't you go back to your lively friends over there I haven't finished talking with Sharon yet."_

_This was the voice of the toupeed douchebag he was about to thump._

_"No, I'd like Andy to stay, we have a lot to discuss." She interjected, keeping her eyes firmly on Andy._

_"With all due respect I don't like his face." He replied._

_"The feeling's mutual, now leave her alone." _

_"Boys, I'm going to get a drink, excuse me." She said as she tried to move past Mr Toupee._

_"I'll get it for you, what do you want?" Mr Toupee asked stepping in front of her exit from the group._

_"I prefer to get my own drinks if you don't mind." _

_She tried to move past him but he kept blocking her path and laughed at her every time she tried a new direction._

_Andy watched Sharon closely, he could tell how aggravated she was getting and that at any moment she might just thump the guy herself. So taking the initiative he pulled the toupee off the slightly smaller man's head and flung it across the other side of the bar. _

_Sharon had gasped and covered her mouth in an attempt not to laugh. Seeing the look on her face, Mr Toupee seemed ready to take out his aggression on both of them, so Andy decided to take the initiative himself and thumped the guy squarely in the jaw. He grabbed Sharon's hand and ran with her out the door and across the road to a local bookshop to hide._

_"We're cops, we aren't supposed to hit and run like that. Do you have any idea how much trouble we will be in?"_  
><em>Andy looked back at the annoyed woman next to him and pulled a magazine off the shelf and started using it as a fan.<em>

_"You don't have to worry Sharon - nice to meet you by the way..." He said as he extended his arm to shake her hand._

_She took his hand cautiously and shook it slowly._

_"...no one in that bar is going to be telling IA on us, they're all buddies of mine"_

_"Andy, I am IA, what division did you think I worked for?"_

_He dropped her hand and muttered something under his breath that Sharon still wasn't sure on till this day. After his initial shock wore down she thanked him for his assistance but told him that if he ever did something like that again she would have to write him up._

_She remembered the look of confusion on his face as he tried to comprehend that the cute lady at the bar he tried to rescue - who probably didn't even need rescuing, actually belonged to Internal Affairs. _

_She handed him her phone number and told him that while she admired him stepping in to help her she was already well aware of the reputation he was gaining, and that if he was ever in trouble again that he should call her, and over the years he did so - many times._

"You know I don't think that man ever got his toupee back." He said absently taking the drink the waiter passed to him.

"What? Really?"

"Yeah, when I finally got back to work that day I heard a couple of the boys laughing about it. Apparently one of them caught it as it flew through the air and it continued to be thrown from one cop to the next."

"Oh god, we could have started a riot."

"Oh it's we now is it? I remember at the time you firmly assigning the blame to me."

"Well, you did hit the man."

"Right before you were thinking of doing the same thing."

They both looked at each other vainly attempting to maintain their stance but failing miserably and irrupting in fits of laughter.

As they ordered their meals a couple of performers started making their way to the stage. The first couple sang duets and popular show tunes, some of them good, some of them a little too over the top for Sharon's taste.

Andy tried to make it look not so obvious, but he found himself looking in her direction more than the performers as he became enthralled in how she reacted to their various efforts. When she liked a song her eyes lit up and she appeared wistful as if she was replaying a fond memory.

Occasionally she would appear surprised by one of the performers and her eyebrows would rise to new heights as she would look over at Andy to confirm his own surprise; and then her second-hand embarrassment would kick in on behalf of one of the more amateur performers and she would tuck in her bottom lip and suddenly look down as she found the tablecloth more interesting - but it was the magic show that garnered the most interesting reactions.

Sharon was so intrigued by the performance she kept leaning forward to get a closer look and at one point she almost knocked over their drinks.

"I never took you for a magic fan Sharon."

Andy moved their drinks over to his side of the table to avoid another leaning incident but he started to wonder if Sharon was even listening.

"Hmm?"

"Magic, I never knew you had such an interest in it."

Sharon moved her chair closer to Andy's. Whether it was an attempt to get closer to seeing the stage or just so she could talk more easily he wasn't sure.

"I guess it's the art of deception that intrigues me. I want to get inside the mind of the magician and figure out his secrets and why he takes so much pleasure in creating mystery."

"Well if I didn't already know you I think you just gave away a big clue as to why you became a detective."

"Oh?" She asked as she took a sip from her glass.

He moved within a couple of inches from her and whispered, "insatiable curiosity - you need to know why things are as they are, you need to put a name to what is going on around you."

"Hmm, I guess I do." She replied, avoiding his eye contact and watching the magician pack up after his final performance.

"I have to say I'm curious too,"

That got her attention away from the performers and she now found herself drawn to the gaze of Andy Flynn once again.

"Back in the 90s when you followed me to that bar you ended up giving me your number - was that really standard procedure for internal affairs or did you have an ulterior motive?"

Some where between the words 'standard procedure' and 'ulterior motive' Sharon felt the detail of the tablecloth beneath her hands become intriguing. She tried tucking her bottom lip to stop herself from smiling but it didn't help and eventually she had to look up at the eyes that were patiently waiting on an answer.

"Standard procedure? No, not really. Though I thought if I kept in contact with you I could at least attempt to influence your behaviour."

She still wasn't completely looking at him and while he thought in some circumstances this might be funny, he was now worried that she was feeling uncomfortable. So in his own unique manner he attempted to lighten the mood.

"So how do you think that worked out for you? I mean you are sitting next to the LAPD's most well behaved officer for two years straight now. Provenza even made me a certificate - of course he charged me 50 cents to print the damn thing out, but hey you can't put a price on that kind of achievement."

"50 cents? That's exorbitant." She replied rolling her eyes.

"I mustn't be that good of an influence on you if it took almost twenty years to get any results."

"You're forgetting I'm a slow learner. I guess I needed to wait till you became my personal tutor before the impact of your presence really made a difference."

The idea of her as a tutor to Andy seemed laughable at first and then her mind wandered. She tried to imagine a very young Andy Flynn as he sat in school making jokes with his equally rambunctious friends.

He was the class clown - the troublemaker, and she would be the studious one sitting in front tapping her pencil waiting impatiently while the teacher struggled to settle the class. While paper planes flew the course of the classroom and insults would be launched from one side of the room to the other, she imagined herself rising from her chair and standing right in front of Andy till he looked her way.

He would of course look her over, make some smart ass response and expect her to back down, then she'd do the unexpected and sit on his desk till she had his full attention.

For the rest of the school year they would test each other with increasingly ridiculous insults till the teacher had enough of them both and assigned her to tutor him one on one. Eventually he replaced his comebacks with lingering gazes, and she replaced her retorts with regrets and aspirations.

_Oh god_, she thought.

The sudden realisation hit her like a ruler to a desk - her whole relationship thus far with Andy had been working to this point. How long had they really been flirting the line between begrudging friendship and curious fraternisation? This wasn't an outing any more - maybe none of them were. Rusty was right, like it or not they were dating.

TBC

**A/N:** Ever since I started liking this pairing I've always wanted to know how Andy had Sharon's phone number from The Closer days. So this is basically my attempt to answer that question, as well as make a reference to that hilarious season 3 episode 'Frozen Assets'.


	3. Chapter 3

Instead of serving both meals at the same time, their waiter had brought out Andy's meal first and left them discussing back and forth whether he should start his meal or wait till Sharon's Greek-style slow-roasted lamb appeared.

Taking the initiative, Sharon made the decision for him and picked up her fork and took a piece of the divine looking courgette and ricotta pasta Andy had ordered to taste for herself. He watched her carefully wrap the piece of pasta around her fork, observing it closely to ensure it would not dramatically descend from fork to table and then took a bite.

He let his chin rest in his hands as he watched her and contemplated the almost childlike amusement she had in stealing the first bite of his dinner.

"Hungry?" He asked, more amused than annoyed.

"Let's just say my curiosity is asserting itself again. Excuse my poor manners I should have asked before taking, I just um..." She was interrupted as the waiter finally returned with her own meal and left it in front of her.

"So you don't have rules when it comes to dinner etiquette? It's kind of amusing actually. Though I have to wonder you seem a little…"

"Tense?"

He didn't expect her to answer so quickly, or actually admit to being anything less than herself.

Andy could see her arranging her napkin on her lap and the muscles in her neck tighten as she smoothed out the table cloth.

"Rusty has some concerns."

"Concerns? Is everything ok with him? It's not his mother again is it?"

She was touched by his interest in Rusty. She had noticed how Rusty had sort out Andy's advice regarding his mother and how he had earnestly sat with him and worked over each of his concerns. There was a bond forming there that was different from the one Rusty had with Lt. Provenza, but just as important.  
>"No not his mother, not this time at least. I guess since coming out and graduating High School he's trying to find his place in the world,"<p>

"Does this have to do with those college applications you want him to work on tomorrow?"

"Partly - I guess what I'm trying to convey to him is that the titles he gives himself, and the titles he is given by others, are not as important as the choices he makes about his life each day. But I'm starting to wonder about how much awareness anyone really has when it comes to their own choices."

"What kind of choices are we talking about here?" He asked as he moved in closer.

"I'm starting to realise that sometimes you unintentionally find yourself connected or disconnected from people, and by the time you realise things have changed it's too late."

Andy tilted his head slightly to try and see what her eyes were keeping from him. He picked up the hand that had let go of the tablecloth and held it between his own.

"Hey, it's ok you know I don't think the kid is ready to leave the nest just yet, and even when he does, he loves you a great deal and he'll always keep in touch."

She looked at their hands. Her stomach was tied in knots and she was desperate to gently caress one of the hands that held her own. She wondered if that would be enough to get her message through, but then she remembered how long they had been playing this game and that subtlety was for the young and people who had time to waste.

"I guess when I say he has concerns, I'm also saying, he's not the only one. He has a way of making me think of my own situation, my own choices and my own understanding of the world I've put myself into."

_This was it_, she thought. _Come on Andy, ask the question_.

"And what situation are you thinking of now?" He asked, still holding her hand.

She gently let go of the hold he had on her hand and replaced it with the napkin that sat by the roast lamb she was ignoring.

"You and me, and this accidental journey into courting it seems we are on. Some time tonight this started to feel like a date, and I began to remember how long it has really been since I went on one."

"Oh..." He started, _oh god here it is_, he heard echo back in his own thoughts.

"If it was a date…" He started, a little too eagerly.

She lifted her eyes away from her napkin and reestablished eye contact with him.

"...would it matter if it was? I mean, you're divorced, I'm single and I feel, I mean, we seem to have, - well at least I feel we have something here. I mean I know it's awkward with us working together but I think maybe, I mean it's not…"

God he wished he could take a breath. He was about to go on when he was interrupted by giggling.

"Rusty was right."

Recovering from her unexpected giggle fit she picked up her fork and dipped it into Andy's pasta again - content to hold back a little and hoping a lighter tone would make this easier.

"Rusty? What did he say?"

"He said we both ramble, he also said this was a date." She replied taking another bite of his meal.

"You know this isn't exactly fair," he replied momentarily distracted by her dipping into his pasta once again.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm a vegetarian, apart from a potato and a couple of boring looking beans there isn't much I can steal from your plate."

Sharon looked down at her own meal and smiled at the absurdity of the situation. She noticed his fork was making its way to her dish, shuffling through the contents of her meagre serving of vegetables. She looked up watching him as he seemed to be concentrating a great deal on finding the perfect bean.

"So, I guess you don't mind then." She asked.

He looked up at her briefly but seemed unsure and looked back at her plate for something to steal.

"Mind?"

"You don't mind me taking some of your dinner? Maybe I should have ordered the pasta instead."

This wasn't about the pasta, this was her subtle way of hinting she was struggling to return to the previous topic. For someone who is usually so confident in asking the direct questions she was certainly struggling with this one.

"Sharon we don't have to acknowledge this if it makes you feel uncomfortable. I think we had a few dinners together, found we enjoyed each other's company and continued to see each other, and now you're looking back trying to apply a name to what we are doing here. Whether we are friends, dating or something in between, it doesn't really matter just now. I just like being around you and enjoying your company."

Andy was starting to feel woozy from all the back and forth regarding their not-date-possibly-a-date status. He knew what he wanted but he certainly wouldn't push the topic, and at the same time he was worried the whole uncertainty was only making things between them more difficult.

Sharon looked down at her hands and every line that edged them. She felt her age more keenly in that moment, more steadfast than any nerves or second guesses. The reality is that she never expected to even be considering dating at this age, and time really did mean everything.

She thought she'd be with her husband, teasing her children about their own love lives, not contemplating the status of her own. She knew she no longer had the luxury of waiting and teasing out information like she may have had as a youth.

This was the life of a mature woman who needed to work within a direction. She was willing to explore new territory but on the provision that her partner was on the same mission as her - with the same goals and destination. She got distracted once already from this topic, she wasn't prepared to do it again.

"I've been trying not to put a name on this but it feels like what we are is hanging right on the precipice. People around us seem to notice it and make comments, but we both seem content to keep our eyes on the ground fixed on what we know for certain, rather than query what might be right in front of us. The question is Andy - and maybe I should have just jumped in and asked this three dinners ago - but do you really want to see this thing between us as more than friendship? I know what you were trying to say before, but I need to know for sure if you see us becoming more than this, or if you were just babbling in nervousness because I confronted you about it."

Clarity is what she wants and he'd given her a lot of maybes and borderline indications he was interested over the course of the evening, but they always gave her an out. There was a fear in this for him too. He'd hardly been a man who was in short of romance but he didn't expect her and the friendship that came with this package deal. Some where along the line the friendship became symbiotic with their abiding affection, but to acknowledge the latter meant risking the first. But if she needed a name, maybe he had one to offer - maybe it was worth the risk.

"I've never had a friendship like this before. I didn't know it was possible to really connect with someone as a friend..." He noticed she looked to the side as he said the word friend, it wasn't meant to deflate her, so he continued.

"...but also want a lot more. You want to put a name on this, here it is - I honestly adore you, and yes I would like to put the word date on this outing of ours - but I want you to know I'm on your timetable with this. If it's something you want then you just have to say the word."

At some point she had turned back to watch him as he gave her a declaration of his intentions. It was hard not to be moved by him when he was this honest with her. She knew for a long time how guarded he could be over the really important matters - even more so than she was at times.

"You, adore me?" She asked leaning closer.

He could sense her breathing quicken and the measure of control she had put in place just to move forward and ask the question. The tension from the word _you_ to the word _adore_ was tangible, it's almost as if she believed it wasn't possible for someone to feel that way about her and that idea rocked Andy's whole understanding of the situation.

He moved forward and gently lifted his hand to the side of her face, cupping her cheek with the lightest of touches and gently strumming his thumb against her skin.

"I guess I thought all the dumb looks I've given you recently would have given me away. But yeah, I can't stop thinking about you."

He then felt rather than saw her hand usher forward and gently hold onto the arm he had extended to her. She wasn't trying to move his arm or the hand that gently held her face, but instead she was trying to bridge the gap and make herself part of the connection as well. She began to mimic his actions and strum her own thumb against his shirt sleeve, wishing she had the benefit of skin to skin touch as he had.

Across from them the piano began to play again. There was no singing just yet but the tune seemed familiar some how. Sharon looked again at the man in front of her who held her face so gently in his palm. She wondered if he still thought she was fragile and undecided - someone who was exploring with her eyes, but hesitant to take the next step. She didn't want to keep him wondering so she decided the next step was hers to take.

There isn't always a moment where both people are aware a kiss is about to occur. The instigator can move quickly and the recipient can find themselves caught unaware. Sometimes there's just a window of closeness that demands a response.

Whatever it was, it found the now ardent Sharon Raydor drawing closer to Andy and he in turn only becoming aware a second before her lips touched his. It was dizzying holding her face in his hand like that. Nothing was really clear until he noticed she was approaching, and as she made contact the sensation reappeared.

Both of them became lost in something bigger than them - delicate touches, slow but assertive. They each wanted this and it didn't matter who made the first move, neither wanted to leave the place they had both reached. They leaned their foreheads closer so they touched with each gentle sway of their kiss.

The piano still played and it was only when the player started singing that Sharon's lips went from soft touches to the beginnings of a smile against her partner's.

_Fly me to the moon,_  
><em>Let me play among the stars.<em>  
><em>Let me see what spring is like on <em>  
><em>Jupiter and Mars.<em>

_In other words, hold my hand._  
><em>In other words, baby, kiss me.<em>

_Fill my heart with song_  
><em>And let me sing forever more.<em>  
><em>You are all I long for,<em>  
><em>All I worship and adore...<em>

Her smile was drawing a small distance between them and he pulled back slightly to figure it out.

"Sharon?" He asked now using his thumb to make soothing circular motions on her chin.

She gently took the hand he held against her chin between her own and looked up at him smiling.

"It's this song, and something I told Rusty this evening."

"Rusty?"

"Yeah, he mentioned the space program to you because I had told him that when I was a child I wanted to be an astronaut. He had made some snide comment that maybe I would have been better off on the moon than pursuing Law and marrying Jack. This song just reminded me of it, and I couldn't help but smile at the thought. I'm sorry Andy I didn't mean to alarm you - I was enjoying myself."

Now hearing the song he began to smile at the lyrics as well. He tried to imagine Sharon as an astronaut exploring the stars, the same way as he had imagined her earlier as a singer on stage, but he liked this version - the beautiful but tough police captain who loved magic shows and laughed at his dumb jokes. He watched the smile play across her face as he moved his hand along her forehead and gently lifted a strand of hair that fell there - _god he was lucky_, he thought.

"You may not be able to visit the moon, but there are always plenty of stars to see at the right vantage point. Maybe we should get out of LA one night and go some place where the sky is clear."

"You're already planning date number two Andy Flynn?" She asked as she finally started to relax and let her toes wiggle free from her shoes.

His smile turned into a laugh and he tilted his head guiltily and nodded.

"Good." She said as she shifted herself so she was leaning on his arm.

"Now how about you Lt. Flynn? When you were a child what did you want to be when you grew up?"

Andy looked down at the woman who was now assigned to his arm and smiled.

"Well before I became a bit of a delinquent, I did enjoy spending time with my grandmother in the kitchen. For a while there I thought about becoming a chef."

"Really?" She leaned back surprised at his confession of domesticity.

"Are you any good? At cooking I mean?"

"I can make a mean Eggplant Parmesan."

"Speaking of the kitchen, Andy do you smell that?"

"Yeah, what the hell is that? This place doesn't do pyrotechnics does it?"

They turned around in the direction of the kitchen and noticed a small cloud of smoke wafting out the doors, followed by a couple of waiters flapping their trays about.

"Ah, that can't be good."

It was then that the alarm went off followed by the sprinkler system.

"Everybody out the side entrance!" Yelled the piano man.

Andy grabbed Sharon's hand as she looked under the table for her shoes.

"There's no time, we'll come back for them." He said noticing how her lack of footwear had suddenly decreased her height.

"Oh god, alright."

Pushing the now damp hair back from her face Sharon clutched at Andy's hand as they made their way to the exit. This was not how either of them had imagined their night progressing. They had made it outside and Sharon surveyed the now damp state of her dress and hair.

She pushed the wild strands that framed her face back past her ears only to then shake her hair out making the whole arrangement wild again. Feeling the material of her dress beneath her fingers she came to the conclusion that the dress would survive with some careful cleaning.

Her now confirmed date was checking his own clothing and she wondered how long it would be before he wanted to kick whomever had caused the fire in the first place. But instead of getting angry, Andy looked down at his tie and started to laugh, which in turn baffled Sharon.

"What on earth is so funny Andy Flynn?"

Hearing the familiar sharp tones of Darth Raydor he looked away from his tie and took in the beautiful, if saturated form of his date.

"This whole situation is just a little ridiculous. Me and the vase, that awful couple and the wig, neither one of us getting to finish our meals and now the two of us soaked to the bones in our finest clothes. Honestly I keep waiting for Provenza to appear, this is the usual nonsense we get into - ah minus the kissing of course." He finished with a grin, hoping to lighten the mood.

She dropped the part of her dress she was holding and moved closer to him with her sternest grin.  
>Opening and closing her mouth she tried to work out what to say to him.<p>

"Listen Sharon I know this evening didn't work out the way we planned, but I'm not going to pretend I didn't have a good time or that I wouldn't do it all again in an instant just to spend more time with you - maybe without the rain shower next time."

"You're a big idiot Andy Flynn, and don't compare our date with your Tweedledee and Tweedledum adventures with Provenza."

The sternness was hard for Sharon to maintain as she began picturing Andy and his partner dressed as the famous Alice in Wonderland characters. It started with an attempt to control the quivering of her bottom lip and ended with a full on snort laugh that gained her the attention of the other restaurant evacuees.

Andy laughed with her, relieved that he could provide some measure of amusement for her.

"If those are the labels you have assigned us with than I choose Tweedledee. After all, I was at least smart enough to realise just how endearing you would turn out to be once we brought you into the fold."

"Oh really?" She replied threading her hands through his damp hair till she was satisfied he looked reasonable again.

"I still recall who it was that drew my portrait on the board as the Wicked Witch of the West."

"Yeah..." Andy replied as he began to straighten his tie and become fascinated with looking at his shoes.

"...to be fair though I think you could definitely pull it off. You in a tight black slinky dress would be a sight to behold and hey you've already shown that no amount of water can hold you back."

"I think I was wrong about you. You're not Tweedledee or Tweedledum, in fact I think I see you as more of the flying monkey type."

"I don't really think I can pull off that hat and vest combination." he replied straining out the water from his jacket.

"Alright so no more comparisons to fictional characters - on one condition..." She started, moving her hands to her hips.

"And that would be?" He asked putting his jacket back on.

"Please find me my shoes. I'm going to cut my stockings on this gravel."

"Deal."

Andy saluted her in that goofy manner she had become accustomed to and looked back to find one of the confused waiters he had seen earlier.

The car park was still chaotic, with some people looking to leave, some trying to get answers - as Andy was, and others just leaning on the posts outside wondering if they would have been better off going to McDonalds. Sharon was part of the latter group and was wondering how Andy felt about splitting a chocolate sunday with her.

While she daydreamed about food she noticed some of the other musicians from earlier in the evening had started to gather around the posts where she and her fellow evacuees where waiting. The piano man was piano less but he seemed to be enthusiastically gathering together a group of violinists.

"Hey Sharon," Andy said as he made his way back to her side.  
>"Looks like we may have to wait a bit for your shoes. They are worried about letting any of the guests back in while it's still damp in there. I think they are worried we will trip over and they'll end up with a lawsuit."<p>

Sharon's shoulders noticeably slumped but her disappointment was balanced with a state of curiosity as she watched the violinists start playing their instruments. Andy followed Sharon's line of sight and noticed curiously that under the guidance of the piano man they continued with the Sinatra classics.

A few other couples moved closer to the musicians and each other as the desire to dance became the next preferable distraction.

"So...Sharon may I have this dance?" Andy asked offering his hand.

"I'm completely soaked, and how do you propose I dance without any shoes?"

He looked down at the shy feet attached to Sharon Raydor and suddenly had the most brilliant idea. Without a second thought he put his hands under her arms and lifted her so she was now in his arms and her feet were resting on his shoes. She barely had time to react and found herself just looking down at her feet in confusion.

"For this evening's dance I will be your shoes."

"What?" She asked, continuing to look back and forward between his face and her feet.

"It's quiet simple Sharon, you keep your feet resting on my shoes and I will carry us around this impromptu car park dance floor."

"But I'll squish your feet and…"

"You? Have you seen you? You're pretty light and just quietly I'm quite enjoying holding you like this. So Ms Raydor, may I be your shoes this evening?"

She wasn't 100% but she could swear at that moment the piano man looked over at them and smiled, and it was also in this moment that the music returned to a familiar song.

_In other words, hold my hand._  
><em>In other words, baby, kiss me.<em>

"Well considering I have no alternative footwear and you're much more comfortable than my heels - I think I'll wear you this evening."

"You'll wear me?" He repeated as he swayed with her to the music.

"Until you fetch my shoes of course."

"Hmm," he hummed in her ear.

"In that case I best let the piano man know to leave your shoes inside."

"Excuse me?" She asked pulling back from him slightly, now seeing the piano man in question waving two very familiar heels in the air.

She looked back at Andy and he just shrugged.

"Admit it Sharon, you're actually having fun."

Sharon looked at him and rolled her eyes, she would admit nothing. Instead she leaned her head on his shoulder and smiled in the direction of the piano man.

_She wasn't going anywhere, her flying monkey knew how to sway._

**A/N:** I wasn't completely sure about all the back and forth dialogue here where Andy and Sharon contemplate the not-date situation.

I feel that the show has set them up so they are going to have to address the question 'Are we actually dating?' but I'm not sure how the show itself will address it. We already have Andy's family and Provenza making assumptions, but I'm interested in how aware Andy and Sharon (particularly Sharon) are about their relationship status.

I'm curious to know your thoughts on this in how I've presented the situation in this story, how you think the show may tackle the issue or maybe how you've addressed it in one of your own stories.

And once again thank you for all the lovely feedback, follows and favourites - it's much appreciated :)


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